Tour of the Tercier Plateau

A hike in a wild and uncrowded area, yet very close to Nice.
You will discover the Plateau Tercier with its panoramic view of the Paillons valleys, the Mercantour and the heights of Nice, as well as a small ruined castle colonised by vegetation: the Castello de Soanès.

Details

3010414
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Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.12 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 274 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 269 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 553 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 289 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park at the intersection of Chemin du Grec (in the municipality of Drap) and Vieux-Chemin de Laghet (in the municipality of La Trinité).

(S/E) Follow the Vieux-Chemin de Laghet road up to marker 632 on the edge of the olive grove.

Red and white markings

(1) Turn right onto the marked path towards Laghet. Cross an enclosure where you may encounter some sheep, and continue along this track, which then turns into a stony path leading up to an old building. Continue in this direction until you reach a small tarmac road at marker 629.

Yellow markings

(2) Climb up to the left towards Soanès. Note several tracks on the left. Continue until you find a well-marked path that begins with stone steps.

No markings

(3) Climb up to the left along this well-marked path, signposted with a few orange arrows. You will reach an old castle in ruins, overgrown with vegetation: the Castello.
Continue climbing, following this path and the arrows, until you reach an intersection at a mountain bike signpost.

(4) Climb up to the left, still following the orange arrows. The slope levels out as you reach the Plateau Tercier, and the view opens up over the Paillons valley and the Mercantour in the distance.

Join a track that descends gently across the plateau to a major intersection at a GR® and a signpost.

Red and white markings

(5) Descend via the track on the left, then continue straight ahead on the GR®51 trail, which descends due west

(6) Stay on the path that descends behind a few houses and joins the Route du Château a little further down. Continue downhill following the road, then turn right to join the Vieux-Chemin de Laghet and the starting intersection (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 313 m - Chemin du Grec
  2. 1 : km 0.12 - alt. 318 m - Marker 632
  3. 2 : km 2.24 - alt. 373 m - Marker 629
  4. 3 : km 2.77 - alt. 413 m - Path to Castello
  5. 4 : km 3.28 - alt. 515 m - Mountain bike trail marker
  6. 5 : km 4.65 - alt. 491 m - GR® intersection
  7. 6 : km 5.44 - alt. 379 m - GR®
  8. S/E : km 6.12 - alt. 313 m - Chemin du Grec

Notes

The start of the hike and the ascent are south-facing. Avoid in hot weather.

Please note that the area is frequented by flocks of sheep. Avoid with dogs.

Worth a visit

During the hike:
- a plateau with some beautiful views of the Paillons Valley and the Mercantour, as well as the hills of Nice.
- a ruined castle colonised by vegetation.

Nearby, you can climb up to Laghet to discover the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Laghet and all its ex-votos. Return trip possible from the (3).

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
User 20148534

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike, no particular difficulty apart from the usual ascents and descents, which are more or less stony but normal for the area
I was charmed by the scents of the heath, but saddened by the traces of several recent fires.

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RaphArn
RaphArn

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike, and the ruined castle is the icing on the cake.
You can hear the motorway quite clearly during the first half of the hike.
Thank you for sharing

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Vir go
Vir go

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk, with some shaded areas and some areas in full sun.
the GPS route is spot on, everything matches up.
the first part of the walk to point 4 is quite steep, I think. Dogs are welcome ✅

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osiris130
osiris130 ★

Hello Rémi,

You've posted your review on the wrong hiking page...

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Remi_22
Remi_22

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A REALLY magical hike, which I'm doing for the second time. You have to be in very good shape to do it, as the climb and especially the descent are very long, with a 2,000-metre elevation gain over 20 kilometres! But it's really worth it, as the views are breathtaking. You can see the entire ecosystem of Mount Ténibre and eight lakes along the way! There was quite a bit of snow at the end of June 2024, so it took me longer, but I have absolutely no regrets. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE HIKE THAT YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY DO!

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Mario Simard
Mario Simard

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with no particular difficulties.

Thank you, Osiris

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Emmanuel Nice
Emmanuel Nice

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with beautiful views at the summit.

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RANDOCOGO2
RANDOCOGO2

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Our hike only partially followed the route.
The stone paths are slippery in wet or rainy weather.
which was the case on Sunday 12/11/2023

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malala
malala

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a very pleasant walk through olive groves at the start, then through a chestnut grove. Not recommended in the height of summer

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olmeto20113
olmeto20113

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant hike, with a beautiful 360° view of the mountains

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Samy06
Samy06

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

i did this hike on an overcast day and had no problems with the route, contrary to other comments. I followed the route on my smartphone app and it was very accurate. We found the castle ruins, Castello de Soanes, very easily. The view isn't exceptional, but it's still a pleasant hike, which took us two hours.

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jplusso
jplusso

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

We had a hard time finding our way on numerous occasions. Other hikers were in the same situation as us.
As the signposts put up by the local council do not have numbers, it is difficult to find your way around, so you need to be much more precise in your descriptions at the points of contention.

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abeauville
abeauville

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We were a little disappointed by this hike – it's true that the weather was foggy and we didn't get any views. The good thing is that it's very close to Nice and still quite wild. But the flat trails in the forest are a bit long... For those who don't know the Laghet sanctuary and its ex-votos, it's worth the detour (which adds about half an hour to the walk).

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castafiora
castafiora
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route on the outskirts of Nice that I didn't know about, even though I'm a true Nice native. I discovered it during lockdown at 6 p.m. Thank you for this discovery, a very pleasant walk through the olive groves. I was almost tempted to go as far as Laghet...
Richard
Note: I followed the GPS after downloading the GPX file, and I have no complaints—it's perfect.

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Niçoise
Niçoise

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A surprising route, the end of the world just 4 km from Nice... It's very beautiful... But the description isn't very precise. It goes downhill, and you think you're going back down into the valley, so you go back up and get lost... In short, please review this route... Thank you

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